Thermostatic control valve



Jan. 15, 1957 c. w. WOOD 2,777,638

THERMOSTATIC CONTROL VALVE Filed May 28, 1953 INVENTOR.

CHARLES W. WOOD THERNIOSTATIC coNTnoL VALVE Charles W. was, Lebanon,Ohio, assignor to Standard- Thomson Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, acorporation of Delaware Application May 28, 1953, Serial No. 358,859

6 Claims. (Cl. 23634) This invention relates to a thermostatic fluidcontrol valve. It relates particularly to a thermostatic fluid controlvalve for the cooling system of an internal combustion engine; but theinvention is not so limited, in that it may be applied to other types offluid systems.

An object of this invention is to provide a fluid control device whichis small in size and compact.

Another object of this invention is to provide a thermostatic controldevice which has durability and long life.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fluid control devicewhich is simple in construction and has a minimum number of movingparts.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construc- 'tion of parts, thecombination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become moreapparent from the following description.

In the drawing,

Figure l is a side sectional view of the valve of this invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the fluid control valve of this invention.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the fluid control valve.

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the invention.

Figure 5 is a side sectional view disclosing a preferred modification ofthe invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the valve comprises an annularring-shaped body 16 having an inwardly extending flange portion 12forming a fluid port through the body 1%. Attached to the body andextending upwardly therefrom are a plurality of arms 14, each attachedto a supporting plate 16 at the upper ends thereof. Attached to thelower side of the body 10 are a plurality of arcuate legs 29, at theends of which is attached a guide cylinder 22. A movable valve member 26is urged to closed position within the fluid passage in the body It) bymeans of a spring 28 which surrounds a cylindrical casing 32, which isattached to the movable valve member 26. The ends of the spring 28resiliently abut the legs 2% and the movable valve member 26. Theconstruction of the casing 32 with the contents therein is similar tothe thermal responsive device disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 333,707, filed January 28, 1953.

The casing 32 is an enclosed container having an orifice 34 in the uppersurface thereof. Within the casing 32 is an elastic cylinder 36. Thelower portion of the cylinder 36 is seated within a cup section 38 atthe lower part of the casing 32. The cup section 38 retains the lowerportion of the elastic cylinder 36 from radial movement. At the upperend of the elastic cylinder 36 is a flange 42 which extends radiallyfrom the elastic cylinder 36 and abuts the inner walls of the casing 32.The flange 42 is restricted from longitudinal movement, due to the factthat it is pressed downwardly by a disc 46 which is retained within thecasing 32 at the upper end thereof.

Surrounding the cylinder 36 and filling the remaining space in thecasing 32 is an expansive material 48. The elastic-cylinder36 isprovided-with a centrally located United States Paten -g longitudinalopening throughout a portion of the length of the spool. Positionedwithin the longitudinal opening in the elastic cylinder 36 is a pin orrod 50 having a tapered end 51. The pin 50 extends upwardly andprotrudes from the casing 32 through an orifice in the disc .6 andthrough the aligned orifice 34 in the upper surface of the casing 32.The upper end of the pin 50 is siidably retained within a screw member52 which is threadedly attached to the supporting plate 16 at the upperends of the legs 14. A comparatively small helical spring 54 abuts thelower surface of the supporting plate 16, encircles the pin 50 andengages the pin within a notch 56. The spring 54 is a repositioningactuator, the function of which will be described below.

Under normal temperature conditions, the elements disclosed in Figure iwill appear very much as they do in that figure. However, underconditions of increasing temperature, the expansive material 48 expands.This expansion results in a distortion of the elastic cylinder 36. Dueto the fact that the elastic cylinder 36 is composed of a material whichis non-compressible, the walls of the cylinder move inwardly in adirection to close the longitudinal opening in the spool. This resultsin forcing the pin 56 in a direction from the body of the cylinder 36and from the casing 32. Under conditions of increased temperatures, theexpansive material 48 will expand to such. an extent that the pin 50 isactuated from the casing 32 such a distance that a shoulder 58 towardthe upper part of the pin 50 is forced into abutting contact with thelower end of the screw member 52, which prohibits further movement ofthe pin 50. The distance which the pin 50 is moved by the expansion ofthe expansive material before the shoulder 58 abuts the end of the screwmember 5'2 is called a pro-travel distance. Further expansion of theexpansive material 48 results in further closing of the longitudinalopening within the cylinder 36. However, due to the fact that the pin orrod 50 is restricted from further movement, the casing 32 is caused tomove downwardly, guided by the inner walls of the guide cylinder 22. Asthe casing 32 moves downwardly, it carries with it the movable valvemember 26, which is attached to the casing 32. Therefore, this downwardmovement of the casing 32 results in the opening of the port through thebody 10.

The thermostatic valve of this invention is ordinarily located in afluid system, so that the fluid surrounds the casing 32. As the movablevalve member moves to open the passage, fluid is allowed to moveupwardly through the port in the body 18. When sufficient fluid hasflowed through the passage or port in the body 10 and has circulated inthe system, its temperature is reduced. The temperature of the expansivematerial is also reduced and gradually decreases in volume, allowing thehelical spring 23, aided by the pressure of the fluid circulatingthrough the port in the body 10, to force the movable valve membertoward closed position. This movement toward closed position of themovable valve member is possible following the decrease in volume of theexpansive material and the resulting decrease in total pressure of theexpansive material against the walls of the elastic cylinder 36.Therefore, the longitudinal opening in the cylinder 36 is opened to agreater extent, allowing the pin or rod 55) to be inserted more deeplyinto the opening in the cylinder 36. When the temperature of the fluidsurrounding the casing 32 has decreased sufl'iciently to allow the valvemember to close the port in the body it), the comparatively smallhelical spring 54, which is attached to the notch 56 of the pin 50,re-positions the pin 59 to its normal depth within the cylinder 36. Theposition of the screw member 52 may be threadedly adjusted in thesupporting plate 16, thereby adjusting the normal distance between theshoulder 58 of the pin or rod 50 and the lower end of the screw member52. Adjustment of this distance changes the travel distance of the pin56, which thereby changes the temperature at which the shoulder 58 willengage the lower surface of the screw member 52, which results inchanging the temperature at which the casing 32 begins to movedownwardly, consequently changing the temperature at which the movablevalve member 26 begins to open.

A preferred modification of the device of this invention is disclosed inFigure 5. The operation of the valve shown in Figure is similar to theoperation of the valve disclosed in Figure 1. However, the preferredmodification employs the use of a pin 60, rather than the pin 50. Anupper end 61 of the pin 60 is threadedly attached to a support plate 62at the upper ends of the arms 64. Therefore, it may be understood thatthe pin 60 is not movable longitudinally as the walls of the elasticcylinder 36 are forced inwardly. Therefore, as the expansive materialexpands to such an extent that it forces the walls of the elasticcylinder inwardly in a direction closing the longitudinal openingthrough the cylinder, movement of the casing 32 immediately results andopening of the movable valve member 26 immediately begins. In otherwords, there is no pro-travel distance of the pin 60 before the movablevalve member 26 starts to open. Hence, the valve 26 starts to open whenthe expanding pressure of the expansive material against the walls ofthe elastic cylinder 36 begins. Due to the fact that the pin 60 does notmove, a re-positioning actuator, such as spring 54, is not necessary.

Both the preferred embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and thepreferred modification, as shown in Figure 5, may be calibrated and setto open and close at identical temperatures.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement ofparts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generallystated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects setforth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a fluid control valve, a body member having a flow passagetherethrough, a support member extending from one side of the bodymember and attached thereto, a guide member attached to the body memberand extending from the opposite side of the body member, a movable valvemember operable to close the flow passage, comprising a casing having asolid end wall provided with an aperture therein, the casing beingattached to the valve member and encircled by the guide member,resilient means abutting the guide member and the movable valve memberurging the valve member to closed position, an elastic cylinder retainedwithin the casing and having the ends thereof abutting opposite endwalls of the casing, the elastic cylinder having a cavity thereinextending a portion of the length thereof, a thermal responsive materialsurrounding the elastic cylinder, and a pin attached to the supportmember and extending into the elastic cylinder through the aperture inthe casing.

2. In a thermostatic control valve having a valve seat forming a fluidport, a support member attached to the valve seat, comprising a casinghaving a solid end wall, the solid end wall having an aperture therein,an elongate body of elastic material having a cavity therein extending aportion of the length thereof, the elongate body being retained withinthe casing and extending the length thereof, expansive material withinthe casing partially surrounding the body of elastic material, annularguide means attached to the valve seat and encircling the casing forguiding the movement of the casing, a movable valve member attached tothe casing adjacent said solid end wall and resiliently urged againstthe valve seat, and a rod attached to the support member and 4 extendinginto the casing through the aperture in said solid end wall, the rodalso extending into the cavity of the body of elastic material.

3. In a thermal responsive fluid control valve comprising a body memberhaving a flow passage therethrough, a support member attached to oneside of the body member, a guide member attached to the other side ofthe body member, a screw member having an abutment end and threadedlyattached 'to the support member, an'enclosed casing having a solid endwall provided with an orifice therein, the casing being slidablyretained by the guide member, a valve member attached to the casing, thevalve member having spring means urging it to closed position, anelastic cylinder extending substantially the length of the casing andpositioned within the casing, the elastic cylinder having a longitudinalhole therein at substantially the center thereof extending a portion ofthe length of the cylinder, an expansive material contained in thecasing and engaging the elastic cylinder, a pin positioned within thelongitudinal hole in the elastic cylinder and extending from the casingthrough the orifice in the solid end wall of the casing, the pin beingslidably attached to the screw member, the pin having an abutmentshoulder adapted to contact the abutment end of the screw member, thepin also having a peripheral notch therein, and a spring having one endwithin the notch and the other end engaging the support member, initialmovement of the casing and the valve member occurring when the abutmentshoulder of the pin engages the abutment end of the screw member, thetemperature at which initial movement begins being determined by theadjusted position of the screw member, the spring engaging the supportmember resiliently biasing movement of the pin.

4. In a fluid control valve comprising a ring-shaped body memberprovided with a valve seat having a flow passage therethrough, a supportmember attached to one side of the body member, a hollow screw memberprovided with an abutment surface and adjustably attached to the supportmember, an annular guide member attached to the other side of the bodymember and concentric with the flow passage of the body member, anenclosed casing having a solid end wall provided with an orificetherein, the casing being slidably retained by the guide member, a valvemember attached to the casing adjacent said solid end wall, the valvemember having resilient means urging it to closed position, an elasticcylinder extending substantially the length of the casing thelongitudinal hole in the elastic cylinder and extending 7 from thecasing through the orifice in the solid end wall of the casing, the pinbeing slidably movable within the hollow screw member, the pin having anabutment shoulder adapted to contact the abutment surface of the hollowscrew member to limit the movement of the pin, the pin also having anannular notch therein, and a spring having one end within the notch andthe other end abutting the support member, the spring urging the pintoward the end of the longitudinal hole in the elastic cylinder, the pinbeing extruded from the casing by the expansion of the expansivematerial until the abutment shoulder of the pin engages the abutmentsurface of the screw member, further expansion of the expansive materialcausing movement of the casing carrying with it the movable valvemember.

5. A thermal responsive fluid control valve of the type having a valveseat forming a fluid port therethrough, a support member attached to thevalve seat, a closure member movable toward and away from the valveseat, comprising a container attached to the closure member, thecontainer having solid and walls, one of said solid end walls having anaperture therein, an elastic body within the container and extendingbetween said end walls, the elastic body having walls forming a cavitytherein extending a portion of the length thereof and in alignment withthe aperture, the Walls forming the cavity being less in thickness thanthe length of the remaining portion of the elastic body which does nothave the cavity therein, thermal expansive material within the containerencompassing the elastic body, and a rod attached to the support memberand slidably extending within the cavity of the elastic body Within thecontainer through said aperture in one of the end walls of thecontainer.

6. In combination with a fluid valve device having a valve seat memberforming a flow passage therethrough, support structure attached to thevalve seat and extending therefrom, a closure member movable toward andaway from the valve seat to close the flow passage, resilient meansengaging the support structure and the closure member urging the closuremember into engagement with the valve seat member, an actuator assemblycomprising a container attached to the closure member, the containerhaving solid end walls, an elastic body within the container andextending between the end walls thereof, the elastic body having acavity therein extending a portion of the length thereof. a rod attachedto the support structure and extending into the cavity of the elasticbody through one of the end Walls of the container, and a body ofthermal responsive expansible-contractible material encompassing theelastic body within the container, movement of the container and theclosure member being caused by expansion of the expansible-contractiblematerial within the container, thus causing inward movement of the wallsof the cavity While the position of the elastic body remains fixed,causing an extrusion action upon the rod and causing relative movementbetween the rod and the elastic body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,208,149 Vernet July 16, 1940 2,356,958 Wangenheim Aug. 29, 19442,419,630 Cruzan et a1 Apr. 29, 1947 2,453,851 Miller Nov. 16, 19482,507,466 De Craene May 9, 1950 2,628,781 Cantalupo Feb. 17, 1953

